Student Loans and Seniors' Social Security Benefits

Young people are not the only ones who are being effected by student loans. According to a new analysis by the Treasury Department, more than 150,000 seniors are losing part of their social security benefits to pay back outstanding college loans. The number of checks being garnished has tripled since 2006, and, on average, seniors are losing $180 dollars from their monthly benefits. Considering that the average Social Security benefit is only about $1200 dollars, these garnishments make it even harder for seniors to get by.
Social Security benefits were originally protected from creditors, but that all changed in 1996, when bankruptcy laws were changed to make student loans nearly impossible to discharge. Unlike other debt, there is no statute of limitations on student loans, and almost no way for borrowers to avoid paying - even for low-income seniors. Corporations can easily escape the financial fallout of their bad decisions, but almost no one is able to get student loan relief after trying to work for a better future.

from here